Chapter 13: A Bracelet of Secrets

As Emily stepped into the house, her footsteps echoed on the hardwood floor. Exhaustion, rage, and an ever-present unease clung to her like a heavy stole draped over her shoulders. Barely had she closed the door when a piercing voice shattered the calm.

"Where did it come from?"

Emily froze, her hand gripping the door handle. Slowly, she turned to face Mrs. Maddison, her mother-in-law, who stood in the corridor with arms crossed tightly over her chest. The older woman fixed her gaze on Emily's wrist as though sizing up a prey with intense scrutiny.

Automatically, Emily ran her hand along the delicate, sapphire-adorned silver chain of her bracelet—a cherished gift from her late mother that shimmered faintly under the hallway light.

"It's from my mother," Emily replied coolly, her tone measured.

"Don't fib to me," Mrs. Maddison snapped as she stepped closer, her eyes narrowing. "That bracelet looks exactly like the one I misplaced years ago. Did you take it?"

Emily clutched her chest defensively. "I didn't take anything," she insisted.

"Please, don't lie!" Mrs. Maddison's voice grew sharp. "You've been acting sneaky all week—I knew something was off."

Emily's heart pounded as she repeated, "I told you, my mother gave this to me before she passed."

Mrs. Maddison's expression twisted with disbelief. "Don't you dare drag your birth mother into this." Before Emily could protest further, Mrs. Maddison lunged forward and seized her wrist.

"Let go!" Emily shouted, twisting her arm to break free.

"Give it to me!" Mrs. Maddison demanded, her nails raking into Emily's skin as she clawed at the bracelet. Emily cried out, withdrawing her arm with great effort as the chain dug into her skin, threatening to snap.

"You're not leaving this house with stolen property!" Mrs. Maddison growled.

Emily screamed, "I told you it's mine!" She staggered backward, clutching her wounded wrist, and dashed past Mrs. Maddison without another word. The older woman, breathing roughly, raced up the stairs.

"Coward!" Mrs. Maddison's voice echoed after her. "You cannot hide from this!"

Slamming the bedroom door behind her, Emily burst into the room and quickly locked it. Her chest pounded fiercely, and as she leaned against the door, she gazed at the bracelet—her mother's legacy—now marred by a fresh red welt. Tears blurred her vision as the warm, comforting smile of her mother haunted her thoughts. Her mother's final gift was a symbol of love and consolation, and Emily would not let anyone take that from her.

Minutes later, footsteps echoed in the corridor, followed by Jack's voice. "Does Emily live here? Would she?" He appeared at the door, a puzzled frown creasing his brow.

Taking a moment, Emily wiped her face and unlatched the door. "What's going on? Why was my mother yelling?" Jack asked, stepping inside.

Settling him on the couch, Emily's voice trembled as she explained, "She tried to grab my bracelet. She acted like a maniac—accusing me of stealing it!"

Jack's expression hardened. "You mean that bracelet?" he gestured toward her wrist.

"Of course! My mother gave it to me before she passed," Emily replied firmly.

Jack sighed deeply and massaged his temples. "Look... even if you and my mother don't always see eye to eye, did you really have to provoke her like that?"

Emily shook her head, her inner turmoil evident. "Incite her? Really?"

Jack raised his hands. "I'm not saying you did anything wrong, but if she felt it was hers—"

"You *know* it isn't hers," Emily cut in sharply. "She just wants to make my life miserable like she always does."

Jack's eyes darkened. "Emily, she's my daughter. Maybe if you stopped being so defensive—"

"Oh, so now it's my fault?" Emily retorted bitterly. "She grabbed me! She scratched my wrist! And you're just standing here taking her side?"

Jack yelled, "I'm not taking sides! But you're always turning every little thing into a fight. You can't just let things go for once!"

Emily's heart clenched painfully. "Let things go?" she repeated in amazement, her voice trembling. "How can I let go when your mother physically hit me? She humiliated me—again!"

Jack exhaled sharply, his frustration overflowing. "I'm sick of this, Emily. You always play the victim. Sometimes, if you weren't so stubborn, things might be simpler."

The words landed like a cold slap. Emily's face flushed fiery red, and a frosty anger welled in her chest. "Not certain," she murmured, rubbing her stomach. "I don't need this."

Grabbing her purse, she pushed past Jack and ran toward the door.

"Where are you headed?" he hollered after her.

"Anywhere but here," she called back, storming down the stairs. Outside, the smug smile of Mrs. Maddison lingered as she sneered, "Flitting away once more?"

Emily kept walking, slamming the front door behind her as she stepped into the cool evening air. She wandered aimlessly along quiet roads, her face stinging from the biting wind. Streetlamps flickered overhead as the sky darkened, and her mind churned with rage and bitter memories.

In a moment of solitude, Emily's fingers brushed against the cold metal of her bracelet as she reached into her pocket. Her mother's face, kind and understanding, flashed through her mind.

"I miss you," she murmured softly.

Her phone startled her in her pocket; she dismissed the first ring, but when it rang again, she answered to see Jack's name on the screen. Dangling her thumb over the answer button, she hesitated. Then she recalled his earlier words: *Maybe if you weren't so stubborn...* and she hung up.

Later, in the living room, Jack and Mrs. Maddison were engaged in a hushed conversation. "She will come back," Mrs. Maddison declared smugly. "She always does."

Jack frowned. "You mean that bracelet?" he asked.

"Look, although you and my mother might not always agree, did you really have to have her react like that?" Jack pressed.

Mrs. Maddison's tone turned derisive. "Protecting you, Jack. One never knows what she's capable of."

Jack crossed his arms. "People like her? You imply the woman I married?"

Mrs. Maddison's mouth opened in protest, but Jack turned away, unwilling to listen further.

Later, with her arms wrapped around herself, Emily sat on a bench in a nearby park. The bracelet still glinted on her wrist—a precious relic from her mother. "I won't let anyone steal this from me," she vowed silently. Though the night was far from over, she wondered whether she might someday face an apology from Jack or finally understand him. Hours passed as she sat on the frigid bench, the cold barely matching the tight knot in her stomach. Jack's earlier admonitions echoed in her mind: *Maybe if you weren't so stubborn...*

Back in the house, voices floated in the silence. "A goblin," muttered Mrs. Maddison, disdainfully. "Wearing stolen jewelry right before my eyes!"

Emily stared down at the elegant silver bracelet—a cherished piece from her late mother, the one remnant that anchored her when everything else spiraled. Through clenched teeth, she hissed, "I told you, my mother gave this to me. It belongs to me."

Mrs. Maddison sneered coldly, "Clearly your mom must have had a taste for burglary as well."

Emily inhaled sharply, heat surging through her face as her vision blurred at the cruelty of those words. "Don't you dare speak of my mother like that," she warned in a low, steady tone.

From across the room, David murmured, "She deserves it," his voice barely audible. Emily's head turned toward him—the man she had once relied on for protection. With arms crossed on the couch, he seemed disinterested.

"What did you just say?" Emily whispered, voice trembling.

"I said you deserve it," David replied forcefully. "Your behavior is the problem, Emily. You've made my life a nightmare—always nagging, always whining."

Emily's chest tightened as his words struck her like a blow. "Really? I kept quiet for your sake when your mother insulted me. I worked two jobs to keep us afloat when your business failed, when you lost your job!"

David scoffed. "You call that keeping quiet? You're always the one who suffers."

"I am the victim!" Emily screamed. "Your mother humiliates me at every turn, and now you're accusing me of stealing?"

Fury contorted David's features as he leaped forward. "Should I have listened to my mother from the start? You are impossible to please and utterly selfish."

"Selfish?" Emily asked, her voice unsteady. "I abandoned my hopes trying to help you."

"Still, here you are," Mrs. Maddison interjected smugly, "strutting around as if you own this house—wearing someone else's jewelry."

"It's my mother's bracelet!" Emily retorted fiercely. "Why can't you see that?"

"Because, based on what I saw," Mrs. Maddison growled, "this bracelet is identical to the one David's grandmother used to wear—and it was lost years ago!"

Emily gaped in disbelief. "You think I stole something years ago? I wasn't even here back then!"

"That's enough," David snapped. "I'm done with this ongoing drama. Apologize to my mother."

Emily closed her eyes in shock. "WHAT?"

David demanded, "You're always stirring up trouble."

"I will *not* apologize," Emily cried. "I haven't done anything wrong!"

David's expression hardened. "Then perhaps you should leave." His words hit like a cold slap. Emily's heart sank as she looked at him—there was no remorse, no concern in his eyes.

"You're really kicking me out?" she asked softly.

"Do whatever you want," David said flatly. "I can't manage you anymore."

A heavy silence followed. Emily swallowed hard, knowing deep down that nothing would change, though she longed to shout, to weep, to beg him for reason. "I should've known," she murmured. "You've been waiting for a reason to drive me away."

She slowly ascended the stairs without another word, fighting back the urge to collapse in front of them. In her bedroom, she began gathering belongings from the closet—each item felt like another piece of her heart being ripped away, a painful reminder of happier times when David had been kind, when his smile had allayed her fears. That man was gone now.

Her hand hesitated over the jewelry box. Finally, she retrieved the bracelet and clutched it tightly—the cool metal pressing against her skin. "I wish you were here, Mom," she whispered.

A sudden knock at the door startled her. Spinning around, she saw David standing in the doorway, arms crossed. "You're leaving?" he inquired flatly.

"You told me," Emily replied evenly. David arched his shoulders. "You did this yourself."

Emily laughed bitterly. "I brought this on myself?"

"You've been unbearable, Emily. You reason everything out; you argue with my mother," David snapped.

"Since you stopped trying," Emily cut in. "You stopped caring about *us*."

David sneered. "I'm finished discussing this."

"Yeah," Emily said sourly. "You always are." She grabbed her phone from the nightstand and zipped her suitcase.

"You will regret this," David cautioned as she reached for her keys.

Emily paused in the doorway, suitcase handle clutched tight. With a soft, defiant "No. *You* will," she left, her mind lighter though her heart remained heavy. She had endured his coldness and my mother's cruelty for far too long—and now she was leaving.

Outside, the fresh, cold air embraced her as she stepped onto the sidewalk—the burden of a house that never felt like hers lifting ever so slightly. With no clear destination in mind, she wandered aimlessly. Hours later, she found solace in a hot cup of tea at her sister Rachel's apartment. As the warmth seeped into her hands, Rachel said, "I can't believe he sided with her. After all you've done for him..."

"I'm not even surprised," Emily mused quietly. "I stayed hoping he would change."

Rachel turned toward her gently. "You deserve better."

Emily glanced down at her mother's bracelet still shining on her wrist and allowed tears to fall—for the first time in what felt like ages, not from sorrow but from relief. The worst had passed. And now, she would write her own story, free of David's bitterness and her mother's cruelty.